We have gotten inside some AMAZING homes and offices - gone behind the scenes at theaters - and seen parts of some famous NYC buildings that are usually off limits to the public - all for free! We LOVE NYC!

Much to do today, digging carrots for one. The last two years we've buried the carrots in a large box of sand and stored in our cool breezeway, unbelievable how well they keep. We have one heat vent in the breezeway but no storm doors so water can freeze out there if the winter is severe enough.
The tree guy hasn't removed the 6o foot maple tree yet, that tree helps keep the house cool in the summer. I'm going to miss it but my headaches are going to say bye, bye.
KarenFla...oh yum, I love corned beef and cooked cabbage. I hate how the house smells plus I have to eat a couple of beano before.
Lynn...you see so many amazing places, I wish I was more adventuresome like you. I hate flying, won't do it. I also hate riding in a car, due to many trips to Wyoming on hunting trips with dh. It's not so bad if I'm driving and don't have to drive through a big city. What a chicken liver I am.
Glynne...I got a hair cut yesterday too, same old hairstyle for me, but it's so easy to take care of short.
Marie...I'm curious about something, what do you take for your allergies? I get overwhelmed at the drug store with all the over the counter meds you can buy. I've talked to the pharmacy
folks and they vary as to what I should take. 4 hour day, 4 hour nite, 24 hour? brand names?
Rosie...are you able to eat normal size meals now? It's getting to be soup weather here too, I've been making lentil soup lately. Something I haven't made much of before, a couple strips of bacon really makes it good.
Dr. Oz had a gal on yesterday that ate pizza 5 days a week and gave her a lower calorie version. It's on his web site today, lean chicken strips, cheese, tomatoes and arugula. I've grown arugula in my garden before but our lettuce is long gone and it's probably an arm and leg cost wise now.
I've got to come back later to gab, Zoe, KarenMo and Freda...I have some thoughts of you and yes, where is Mary?

Gayle, good news that there was no eye rolling! My DH thought it was cool but I know you have concerns on yours. I'm ready to pack.

Lynn, you just saved me $$$. I will definitely wait to see Ides of March until it comes out on DVD. And I will put The Way on the Netflix list first. BTW, I'm glad Netflix didn't divide into two companies. Of course the rate hike was a big percentage increase but I can live with that.

Bobbi, the only one that works for me is Allegra 24 hour caplets. I have an allergic reaction to a few of the others and Zyrtec has caused depression with a few of my family members. My dr has prescribed a higher amount of Allegra for me than the once a day but I rarely do it ($$$). Costco now has Aller-Fex which is the generic Allegra. They also sell Allegra. Just be careful because they also have Aller-Tec which is the Zyrtec generic.

I love Fridays.I don't know if I will be back later because I'm picking DGS up after work for our weekend adventure. We have a wait before the train departs so he'll probably want to play the PS3 at my house for a bit, so I might be back then. I am excited about playing with him all weekend. Two weekends in a row is fabulous!
Marie

__________________Dedicated to logging every morsel for the next three months. Clearly that three months will never end.

Bobbi, the only one that works for me is Allegra 24 hour caplets. I have an allergic reaction to a few of the others and Zyrtec has caused depression with a few of my family members. My dr has prescribed a higher amount of Allegra for me than the once a day but I rarely do it ($$$). Costco now has Aller-Fex which is the generic Allegra. They also sell Allegra. Just be careful because they also have Aller-Tec which is the Zyrtec generic.

Marie

Marie, is the AllerFex OTC? That's about the only thing I haven't tried for my allergies. The one I used years ago worked good but was taken off the market. I think that whatever was in it was what worked for me. LOL I use generic Clairitin and it helps, but does not stop the allergic symptoms altogether. I can not use anything with a "D" because of my blood pressure.

Just a couple of thoughts, then I really have to leave here. I wanted to take the time to read the memory lane Jane posted but don't have the time now. KarenMo... I remember most of the gals you posted, Lynard pops in every once in awhile, haven't heard from Rusty for a bit. Woodlily was from Minnesota and Meowee (Linda), who could forget her. She was a tad bossy but we can't all be perfect like the rest of us.
Zoe...I dropped out for a year or so also, I think when I reached my goal. Then when the pounds started coming back on I was back, sort of like a fair weather friend. Now I know never to stop coming, it's not just about weight loss, but friendships too.
Freda...I had to look back to see what I missed about your back, still not sure other than it started when you sat in the stadium for 3 hours. SO...what's the scoop?
Donna...cute story about Samcat...our DD has two cats and they do the same thing, what's that about kneading? She has one angry 'all the time' cat that don't like anyone but DD, she had to have her front claws removed so she didn't hurt anyone or the friendly dog they have.
CarolSue...my doc put me on a diet and exercise program a few years ago to lower my cholesterol too, unfortunately I got skinny as a rail and my blood work didn't change. So I'm on meds for a life time, but I'm on the right side of the grass and not pushing up Daisies.
Web...you got a name we can use? Bummer about your leaky humidifier, or was it a dehumidifier? Yes, as home owners we can expect expensive we don't plan on. My brother had a water pipe break on his basement carpet, what a mess. They pull it up and put a fan on it for days and days. I don't think you can ever get the mold and mildew out that's bound to grow no matter how dry you get it.
Rie...even tho you didn't get to play all your pool games, the comradeship of being with friends counts. It's great that you have a fun hobby that gets you out of the house.
All you Golden Girls have special and different ways of chilling out/having fun, I think I'm the only home body of the bunch. I have the whole world opened up to me with my computer and television and have no desire to expand my world since my retirement 12 years ago. Okay, I'm boring but I love being boring. Winter cross country skiing is probably the only non boring thing I do. My wonder lust years disappeared and I'm so content now. I've putzes around long enough for DH to get some carrots dug, I have to wash them a bit before storing.
Sorry if I missed anyone, KarenMo...thanks for checking with Jane on our past.

Hey Y’all,
Remember me?! I just looked at the last time visited date, & it was Sept. 26 - WHAT???!!! Anyway, I’m still around & doing ok, but I continue to hate spending time on the internet. I really, really don’t know what’s up with that. I’ve been trying, & trying, to figure it out! I do so miss knowing what all the GGs are up to, & still have long conversations with you all, in my mind.

I thought I’d better go ahead & post this before trying to catch up with all that everyone’s been doing. I know that will take quite awhile, & I don’t think I’ll manage to stay here long enough to even read through all the posts I’ve missed. In addition to my aversion to the internet, I’ve been feeling sort of lousy the last couple of days (just a cold, I think), & I’ll probably give up & head for bed pretty soon.

Sorry for not stopping by more often, or staying longer! Luv you guys (& it’s really good to know y’all are here!).NCNancy

Hi everyone! I hear you have been wondering about me so thought I'd better check in first thing. We just got home today after four nights at the OR coast. We crab off the dock there at the Embarcadero (resort) and this time we caught 19 crabs! It was suppose to rain all the time except for yesterday but actually we had pretty nice weather the whole time. The first day was windy but that calmed down and it was fine. It sprinkled now and then and rained at night but the days were plenty nice enough to enjoy being out on the dock. I didn't contribute at all to the crab count but I did have fun. While the pots are out there in the water we "fish" for crabs with a fishing rod with a trap on the end. I got lots of little guys and two HUGE females which of course I had to throw back in. Also got some nice Red Rocks...sometimes we take them for some friends who like them but we didn't this time.

Yesterday after our bait ran out we cleaned up and went into town. I bought some good smelling candles and a device that cuts the crust off the bread and makes sandwiches in the shape of two dinasours. Thought my younger gc would like that. They are at a stage now where they don't like the crust. Oh and I got a bottle of BBQ sauce that sounded good and is low cal/carb. So just a few little things. Can't go there without buying something.

Ok, about my diet, I have good news and bad news. The first good news is that I lost almost 12# in three weeks, but the bad news is that in the 4th week I gained back 3#!! Overnight! I figured it was sodium...that day we were traveling and I had gotten the caesar salad with grilled chicken at McDonalds and shared a diet Dr Pepper with dh. It was a senior drink but he refilled it so I probably got a good 12 oz. That night at the resort I ate some cheese pizza chip-like things of Medifast which were a little salty and decided I had to have another diet soda. I never have them in the house and when I'm at a restaurant is usually the only time, so this was a special treat and I honestly forgot that on Medifast I am only suppose to have one diet soda in a day and I was just thinking no cal so ok. The bottles were 22oz (from vending machine) and I drank one and a little of another! For the 0 cal, I guess they have quite a bit of sodium plus what I got from the chips and who knows how much from McDonalds. I was So disappointed the next day to see the almost 3# gain since it was my 4 week mark and I was hoping to at least maintain.

The next day Joe wanted ice cream at our favorite place in Newport so I knowingly went off-plan and had a one scoop child-size cone which was still pretty big and then yesterday for lunch we shared onion rings (I'm sure a no-no as they are deep fried) and I also had a cup of chili (beans are a no-no I think) and a salad. I made sure I got lots of fiber and protein at the condo each day but that day I was over 1600 cal I think. So, for the first time I did go off-plan these past three days! and today one month from when I started MF, I am up another .4#. But the second good news is that I have still had a 8.8#loss in one month so still not bad but since I thought it was going to be more, I was disappointed. Today we stopped at Denny's on the way home ...I got a classic burger..patty only with LOTS of salad (2 t Ranch dressing but not sure it was low-cal)..but I consider I'm still on-plan today. Ok enough confessing. LOL

The plans for a get-together sound fun but I cannot say for sure whether I can make it. Depends on when and where and how things are with us. So much depends on what we have to do about our son's house right now, so even the travel plans we currently have for the next several months are really tentative.
Best thing to do is go ahead and make your plans and I will do what I can.

I remember Meowee from when I first signed up at this site. She was friendly and welcoming to me. I wasn't very active back then though.

Mom - Congrats on the 10# loss! For some reason I have a lot of trouble getting to 10# down and staying there so you are an inspiration to me. Keep up the good work.

Marie – I just read about your arm… are you okay? I thought your synopsis of doctors: insurance was so on target. I’m dealing with the same kind of, dare I say it?, CRAP with GM’s recent hospitalization. It just makes me crazy. All these different prices for the same procedure, depending on how much money you have and/or the kind of insurance you have…. It’s not right.

PT/Zoe – your pain-relief self hypnosis would be a WONDERFUL skill to have… how do we learn this? I used to be able to hypnotize myself to sleep anyplace, anytime I wanted, but that doesn’t seem to work as well as it used to. I guess I wore it out. When do you go for your consultation consult? Soon, I’m thinking?

Gayle – did you get the perfume issue resolved? When I worked at the hospital, we had a new nurse come to work, and I swear the air around her was solid… with this horrible dizzying scent of godawful puke. It literally made me sick to my stomach. I did approach the head nurse and was sorely reprimanded for doing so. I wish I'd had the sense to go home sick from it. Finally one of the patients refused to let her into their room, and she was asked to tone it down. Do any of you remember “Emeraude” perfume, some green stuff? I could smell it from across the street, and it closed me up. Horrible stuff. None of this would be all that bad if people had just a modicum of common sense and sensibility.

Freda – are you well and healthy again?

Bobbi – did you get the floors installed? Are your headaches still gone? I’m a happy nester, too, Bobbi, and would never leave the house if I didn’t absolutely HAVE to! I can entertain myself happily and have no objection to staying in my jams for days on end, talking to no one.

KarenFL – I can think of worse cravings than cabbage… but, of course, I always have a huge container of cooked cabbage in the refrigerator and eat it almost every day. I love it!

Rosey – yo! What’s next for DH, insofar as more testing? Have you started experimenting with his food, yet, cutting things out, seeing how that affects, and then adding things back in gradually? How did the babies fare with you gone or do you take Sadie, Gizmo, and Daisy with you?

Nancy – good to hear from you!!! So, what are you doing these days to amuse yourself? Surely, you aren’t cooking and cleaning, washing and ironing, and being a domestic goddess? How’s Darling SD? And how’s my Precious SO? Stay in touch, at least a little bit!

Mary – glad you resurfaced. If you go off without telling your Golden Grannies again, though, we’ll ground you! I thought it was way cool to see the group organize and ferret out information about you, though! I’m glad you had fun, too!!!

Nothing much on the scheduled agenda. I have to go collect some money in a couple of hours, but otherwise, I plan on some domestic drudgery, either real or virtual. I’m glad it’s Saturday, especially! I seem to be tired.

Hope you all have a lovely weekend! Have fun with the GBabies and assorted other folks!

__________________

__________________________If you're not part of the solution, you're just scumming up the bottom of the beaker---unknown

Sorry that I haven’t been here for a couple of days, it has been really crazy. Yesterday was my version of the terrible, rotten, very bad day!

I had my 3 month dr appt yesterday so the plan was to pick up dgs at school, meet up with my mom, do some mutual banking (they have me as a signer on all their accounts) and then head to the appointment. Maybe squeeze in a lunch, too. My pickup wouldn’t start! GRRRR. Then, I found out that the dealer forgot to include the phone number for assistance with my warranty. I spent several hours trying to track that down. The good news is that the truck is fine. Roadside assistance came out, jump started it and, with ds, discovered that the previous owner had something to power a stereo system that no longer is needed but was draining the battery. On a funny note: Mom, bless her, let me take her car to the pool tourney last night because the truck wasn’t ready. My friends had fun teasing me about her car. It is a little white chevy sedan. She has taped two large silk flowers to the top of the antennae so she can easily spot it in parking lots. It has personalized plates that mean “Jim’s broad” – my dad is Jim. The boys had fun with that one. I came back into the main room from playing a match to discover that they had found some fake flowers and had created a wire that stood up from my pool cue case to hold the flowers in the air – “so I don’t lose my cues” Aren’t men/boys just adorable???

My dr appointment was good and bad. My A1c was 5.4 – which means that I have maintained a “non diabetic” number for more than 9 months. However, for the first time, I didn’t lose any weight. He was unconcerned but I was bummed out. I guess I now know what maintenance will be like but my conserving body needs a push. I spoke to ds about it this morning and we plan to go to some lower calorie options for a while. (less steak, more fish). He was checking me to follow up on my belly pain (I said it was better). When he pressed on my stomach, I nearly came uncorked – it hurt so bad! He is pretty concerned. I have already had lots of tests so he has ordered an ultrasound next week. So, as usual with dr’s, it is good and bad. I just need to say, again, that I am so thankful to have found him. He is so kind and so enthusiastic about my progress.

All in all, I guess that if this is my worst day…. I should be pretty happy.

Mary, so glad that you are ok! Hang in there with the diet, you are still down from where you started.

Nancy, it was great to hear from you. Just come in here and see what’s up anytime – you don’t need to do personals. Yes, we think of you often.

Bobbi, yes, pool is really important for me – it got me out of the house and off the couch years ago. Like you, each of us finds our own way. You are always busy at home and that is a good thing. My family always buried root veggies like carrots and potatoes in barrels before winter storage. It really works.

Marie, have a wonderful, adventurous time! I share your love of rides and plan to make that one of my retirement activities….. And, I love the marine animals.

Lynn, you have so many interesting things in your life! I can’t wait to hear about NY. Thank you to you and Zoe for doing the survey. I can go with any of the plans. My only other thought is that the venue should offer the ability to accommodate the loungers and the active ones – on any given day I am either!

Gayle, I am glad that things at work are ok. Yay, that dh didn’t react to the idea of a trip. I am sooooo packed – whatever the plans!

Karen3, easy now with those leg weights. Tee Hee. Don’t forget to strengthen the hamstrings, too.

Rosey, you are just getting more and more mobile! So happy for you.

Freda, here’s hoping that your back continues to improve.

Karenmo, Hi! What kind of adventures are you having this weekend?

Hi Carol. I agree about the perfume.

Well, this has gotten sooo long! Sorry. I hope that I didn’t miss anyone. A brief word about Mowee – she was here on the diabetes thread when I started lurking. She sadly passed a little while later. She was an expert on so many diabetes related things. RIP.

Bobbi- I am so glad to hear that you're a homebody. I always feel that there's something wrong with me for wanting to stay home. I always tell DH that I worked for years to pay for this house, now I want to enjoy it. Actually, I spend so much time outside the home working that being home is very relaxing for me. My mother was the same way so I guess I got it honest enough. I don't feel that I'm missing anything.

Was so surprised when I stepped on the scale this am...I weighed 153.4!! That's my lowest in about 6 years at least! I hope it's not just because the scale was moved but did notice I was lower than usual when I went to bed last night. It will be interesting to see how Joe's weight is when he gets up. I will not change my sig though for another month. Maybe I finally dropped the water plus a little more!

Much to do today. Need to go to Costco for the coupon deals plus some other items. Also want to return the jacket I just bought and have to go across the river to the store. The size Large fits fine around (yea!) but it is longer than I wanted. I ordered it because it was suppose to be waist-length but on me it comes down to my hips. I am straight, not curvy and that may be partly why but I suspect too it is because it is a large. If I were not overweight I would likely be a medium, but I don't think a medium will go around me in front yet (darn tummy!). So think I'll take it back and try on a medium in the store just in case, otherwise just return it. This is the type problems I have with clothes because of my weight...for a large part of my life I was a very skinny person and I think this is how my body was meant to be. When I put on weight I put it on in places that are more like a man, not a woman and it makes it hard to buy clothes off the rack. I used to hate being skinny, but now I am more than ready to go back to that!!

ETA When Joe weighed he was a little lower than he was at the coast but right in line with where he was before we left. He didn't eat much last night. So hoping it is accurate.

Howdy GGs.....I am confessing to an evil thought. hehehhee just a little evil. sniker sniker....You have heard me before pitch a *itch about Dh's buddy who summers out below Donna. He is a womanizer and user. Anyway yesterday he was here in white shorts and I kept wondering why he looked so femine. Girlish...sat watching Dh in shorts looking manly thought maybe because they are white and a little short. Now ladies he used to look like Tom Seleck until he shaved his mustache and now he looks GIRLY???? Figured it out, he shaves his legs. he has a hairy chest/arms and gray legs from the 4o'clock shadow. Must shave them because waxing would be horrible. Actually if you look you can see missed clumps. OMG I will never be able to look at him again without laughing. k3